Gayle's a coffee drinker too. Since she knows I like mine black, she also knows I like mine good.

---

Coffee Cozy.

I've admired those knitted coffee cozies, they're so cute.

But I've always talked myself out of buying one because I thought to myself that I could make one.

Then of course I never do, so I've never had one.

Now I have one.

---

Werther's Apple Pie Candy.

I couldn't even get a picture of the candy, it was gone before I started taking pictures.

It was good with coffee though. And without coffee, too.
---

Relaxing mints.

She knows that with three kids, a job, a hubby and all the other things I've got going on, I need a little bit of relaxation.

And truth be told, as a coffee drinker, I need the mints.

---

Candle.

This little candle smells won.der.ful. Like lemon grass. Like spring.

Which is something I'm really longing to smell these days.

---

Post-Its.

I don't know if she knew this, but I have post-its all over to remind me of things.

If I don't write it down, I don't remember it.

I probably could use my notes app on my phone, but I'm old school like that. I like paper products.

I love these cute little post-its. They will soon be plastered all over my steering wheel.

---

Jesus Today devotional.

The subtitle for the book is Experiencing Hope Through His Presence.

Hope is a big one for me. I needed hope. I have hope.

I've heard a lot about Jesus Calling, and I am looking forward to diving into this devotional by the same author.

---

Water bottle.

I need to drink more water. This is going to help me.

I love the verse that she wrote with it:

"They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:8"

I'm pretty sure she doesn't know details of the particular drought that we are

going through right now as I haven't posted about it, but that verse was just right.

---

Now, wasn't that fun?!

And random.

And such a blessing.

For both of us, I think.

I'm so glad I got a chance to get to know Gayle.

She is a super sweetie.

I can check that off my to do list now.

---

It's cool how this little bloggy blog has connected me with complete strangers that God has used to remind
me of His faithfulness during times of drought.
And of His lovingkindness through Random Box Exchanges.

The girls came from behind to win their semi-final game, in a tie-breaker

match with Kaitlin serving 10 points in a row.

Then, in the championship game, the girls came back again, forcing

another tie-breaker match. Again Kaitlin had a great series of serves.

But they came up short.

They did great to place second, but it's still hard to smile for cameras

right after an emotional loss.

Dear Back Porch,

I miss you.

I can't wait to spend time with you again.

It snowed so heavy on Monday that I decided not to make the 24 mile drive to work.

Fortunately I had brought some things home that I could work on.

Also fortunately, I got to be at home when this truck came to our door.

My before and after pictures.

Before:

Furnished with all the stray pieces of furniture that we have accumulated over the years from various

places, I was not very inspired to decorate.

After:

Now I'm super pumped up to decorate.

I wish I could do it all at once, but I'll need some patience as we have a little thing called a budget.

Still, I ran out to Target in a snow storm and picked up shoe racks to make into an end table and a lamp as well as some fun stuff for the mantel.

And for the first time ever, we have a sleeper couch! Now we can help out friends of friends

who need a place to stay when they go to Mayo Clinic.

Here's a close up of the new ottoman. It's faux furry.

Our feet love it.

I like to be just a little bit different. Eclectic. Rebellious. Whatever.

I didn't want to choose a pattern that I like today but that I would

tire of in less time than the furniture lasted.

I didn't want to go with a solid color and limit myself to a scheme.

So I went with monochromatic furry.

"I love it," I said as we sat there with our feet up. "It's unique."

"The nice thing about this is that it won't go out of style," my husband

said, "because it was never really in style."

I'm totally okay with that.

I was in Trader Joe's when I got tagged with #widn on Instagram.

(That's What I'm Doing Now, for those who don't speak #hashtag.)

Right at that very moment I was looking for orzo. I couldn't find it

anywhere. I recruited a nice lady to help me find it. She couldn't find

it either. Then I found a kind worker man and asked him if they

had any orzo. As soon as he came, I saw it. Right there

in front of me.

The very last bag in the store.

When I got home I looked closer at the instagram picture of the person who tagged me.

Her #widn picture involved lots of piles of laundry.

And it really made me feel good, you know, to see someone else's piles of laundry.

Like, I'm not the only one who has piles of laundry.

I think it has something to do with how misery loves company.

So I thought I'd do a #reallifelaundry hashtag, you know, for anyone who needs company.

Go ahead and post your own #reallifelaundry pictures.

Think of it as a ministry opportunity.

And if you think laundry is misery, find some company at #reallifelaundry.

Piles of laundry on my family room floor. Pretty much every day.

Clean laundry gets brought into the family room, and the rule is [supposed to be] that if you are watching

TV, you need to be working on laundry if there's any to be worked on.

It gets sorted according to who's it is. It gets folded. But it only sometimes gets upstairs.

Kaitlin's friend came over to help her make an atom model.

That's what friends are for.

I'm getting my Easter on for the Spring Party at work.

I strung these eggs into a garland. Such an easy decoration. I promised Sarah that after the party, we'd
use them for an Easter egg hunt. She couldn't wait until then, so I hid three eggs in the living room for
her to find. She was appeased.

Food coloring + vinegar + boiling water = beautiful colors.

But I thought that they looked a little chalky.

For eggs that don't look chalky, rub some oil on them.

That reminds me of a song that my son has just introduced me to:

Rub Some Bacon On It.

I even made some Resurrection Rolls for my old people.
Wow. The lengths I go to.
I'd never made them before and I can tell you this:
I won't make them with crescent rolls if I ever
make them again. Almost all the rolls split open.
I drizzled them with frosting to cover up the holes,
but "Ugh!" Still, the old people loved them.

Resurrection Rolls are empty in the middle, just like the empty tomb. They're made by rolling dough around a marshmallow dipped in butter and cinnamon & sugar. It's important to get a really, really, really good seal on the dough.They're still edible, but not as pretty, if you don't.

Look at them. They're party animals. Literally.

We celebrated the first day of spring with a Spring Party.

I brought my print from the 2006 Easter Egg Roll at the White House to show them. (It's hanging in the

background of this picture.) I told them all about our time there, and the history of the Easter Egg Roll. Then I had them roll their eggs along the tables. It was pretty funny. They didn't know they were playing

for bunny ears. Maybe they wouldn't have tried so hard if they did.

We were celebrating spring, but this was the weather on the first day/week of spring.

(Please pray for me, that I could experience some warm temps in the near future.)

Those drinks are smoking.

Wednesday I went out with a good friend for some girl time.
I need to do that more often.

Did you know Siri spells with a Minnesota accent?

I laughed when I saw her spelling for "bag."
When I lived in New York, I asked my friend if my
gym clothes made me look like a bag.